"The new class is the precariat; unless the progressives of the world offer a politics of paradise, that class will be all too prone to listen to the sirens luring society onto the rocks. Centrists will join in supporting a new progressive consensus because they have nowhere else to go. The sooner they join, the better. The precariat is not victim, villain or hero-it is just a lot of us."

غي ستندنغ

brief bio

Guy Standing is a Professorial Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and a founder member and honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), a non-governmental organisation that promotes a basic income for all. Standinghas emerged as a zeitgeist figure and his work on the precariat is essential reading for critical youth studies. Precarity refers to lives “dominated by insecurity, uncertainty, debt and humiliation.” He has observed the spread of uprisings around the globe, from the Arab Uprisings in 2011 to Indignados in Spain, Occupy movements and the list goes on. He says, "We want to revolt, but we don’t know how." In his books and talks Standing provides a lucid explanation of precarity and offers viable ways that people, together, can reclaim lives of stability, security and dignity.

KEY TEXT

The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class has achieved cult status as the first account of this emerging class of people, facing lives of insecurity, moving in and out of jobs that give little meaning to their lives. Guy Standing warns that the rapid growth of the precariat is producing instabilities in society. It is a dangerous class because it is internally divided, leading to the villainisation of migrants and other vulnerable groups. And, lacking agency, its members may be susceptible to the siren calls of political extremism. He argues for a new politics, in which redistribution and income security are reconfigured and in which the fears and aspirations of the precariat are made central to a progressive strategy.

BOOKS

VIDEOS

Listen to Guy Standing explain his theory of the precariat: A new social class in the 21st century, characterized by a lack of job security and even basic stability. Guy Standing is the author of the 2011 book "The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class".

In 2011 SEWA in partnership with UNICEF launched the Basic Income pilot experiment in 9 villages of India. The basic income payment were made up to 18 months to study the viability as a tool of social security for the poor. Basic Income Pilot Project releases an impressive list of findings.

A conversation with Guy Standing, author of The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class and other works, on the rise of a financially insecure and alienated class.World Economic Forum in Davos. January, 2017 http://www.weforum.org/

"Never before has debt become a systemic part of the economy - it's a system working to increase debt for you and me" We want to revolt, but we don't know how, Guy explains in an inspiring talk about the new social class: the precariat.

Professor Guy Standing spoke to the NZ Fabian Society in Christchurch on March 30th 2016. He is the author of The Precariat and The Precariat Charter. He will speak at this event on his upcoming book Rentier Capitalism and the coming Precariat revolt.

Prof. Guy Standing presents four important motivations for a Universal Basic Income, from social justice to fighting neofascist populism. Find out how in our insecure times, basic income is a vital, affordable tool to respond to the changing world of work.

TIME FOR A BASIC INCOME IN SCOTLAND? A conference and interactive forum which draws on cutting-edge action research on Basic Income in Europe and elsewhere, discusses key Scottish social and economic challenges and explores options for introducing a Basic Income to Scotland.